Commission expected to move forward on Delray road project

Beauty doesn't come cheap, or fast. Just look at U.S. 1 in Delray Beach. The U.S. 1 Beautification Project, however, is one step closer to getting started.

Ten years after the project was conceived, the Delray Beach City Commission is expected to move forward negotiating with the company that would oversee the improvements: landscaped medians, narrower lanes, decorative street lighting and paver sidewalks along northbound and southbound U.S. 1 from George Bush Boulevard to Southeast 10th Street — all to create a more friendly pedestrian environment and reduce speed as cars enter the downtown area.

Part of the delay was cost related. The project was put on hold last year while the city sought a loan from the Florida Department of Transportation's State Infrastructure Bank to fund a $1.8 million gap in the $8 million cost of the project.

Now the Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency has agreed to pick up the rest of the tab, said CRA grants and marketing manager Elizabeth Burrows.

"There's a possibility that real cost would come under what the city expected," Burrows said. "What our board agreed to was to provide funding in the amount of $1.8 million and 54 percent of whatever the shortfall is not to exceed $1 million. So we could be paying $2.8 million upfront."

The rest of the money for the project came from a variety of sources. Developers contributed about $178,000, while $7.2 million came from federal and state grants. The city contributed about $625,000 and the CRA pitched in about $1.2 million to design it.

The project was conceived in 2002 as part of the downtown master plan. In March 2008, city officials closed off one lane of southbound and northbound U.S. 1, between Southeast 10th Street and George Bush Boulevard, to install temporary barriers.

City officials then studied the effect of the narrower lanes on accident rates, new signal-timing plans for on-peak and off-season traffic, and driver operating speeds.

According to the data collected, drivers along that stretch of U.S. 1 slowed about 6 miles per hour. Crashes on that stretch were reduced by 50 percent, and crashes at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue were reduced by 75 percent.

Jim Smith, who is chairman of Safety As Floridians Expect, a group that advocates for pedestrians and bicyclists, said it's about time the project gets started.

Smith said the project, which narrows U.S. 1, also known as Federal Highway, from three to two lanes, is ideal for Delray Beach. He said it will not only create pedestrian-friendly sidewalks and safer streets, but it will also expand the downtown to an area that has seen little activity in recent years.

"What's going to be really a step forward from a safety standpoint is that the landscaping will slow down the traffic," Smith said.

Project manager Tim Tack said the work could begin in January and would likely take two years to complete.